United States win Pool B in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, July 12, 2012 - United States beat Brazil 22-25, 25-23, 25-20,  25-22 in the battle for first place in Group B to advance to the semifinal phase in the VII Men’s Pan American Cup.

United States, winners of four of the six previous versions, imposed his versatile game based on a great defense on the floor and at the net.

Taylor Sander led the U.S. with 23 points and Antonio Ciarelli and Carson Clark added 16 and 12 respectively. For Brazil, Gustavo Bonatto had 18, followed by Mauricio Borges with 14 and Franco Cargnin with 13.

Raphael Vieira, captain of Brazil: "It was a tough match, as it is always when we play any team of United States. We need to focus more and expect better results in the next matches to be able to reach the finals.”

Kawika Shoji, Captain of USA: "This match against Brazil was as difficult as exciting. We have a good rivalry and our matches are important for the players. I think that neither team played its best volleyball. We respect the game and professionalism of the Brazilians and we will try to enjoy the day off to get ready heading to the next stage."

Leonardo Carvalho, Coach of Brazil: "The United States deserved the victory. They played better and their defense system is excellent. That’s why we got beat, with good reception and great blocking against our spikes. We know we can play better. We had difficulty maintaining the level of play we are accustomed. It was a bad third set. "

Shawn Patchell, U.S. coach: "It was a good game at the end. Having to play Brazil got the best out of us. We are going to continue to improve and now we’ll rest on Thursday and prepare for our next rival, trying to avoid Brazil. Playing against them the matches are very close. The key was the service in the third set. Then we improved, recovered and got the win.”